From the desk of Mayor Sam Alai

Thank you to everyone for another wonderful Home Days celebration in Broadview Heights! As always, the community came together and spent four days playing games, eating delicious food and, most importantly, enjoying time together.

Our annual summer festival is one my favorite events because it gives me a chance to visit with family, friends and folks in our community. The rides, prizes, music, beer garden, fireworks, etc. are enjoyed by people of all ages, which makes those of us behind the scenes very happy. We rely on many phenomenal volunteers and all of our staff to make this a well-attended and fun-filled event that has something for everyone, so I’d like to thank all of them for working together to make Home Days such a success.

Almost 40 years ago, our oldest child attended Safety Town, and in June, our third-youngest grandchild also attended Safety Town. As I sat with my family at the graduation for my grandson, Matthew, I was reminded of how lucky we all are to have such fantastic police and fire departments. As he spoke to an audience of very proud parents, grandparents, etc., Broadview Heights Police Officer Jose Garcia did a wonderful job of mixing an overview of the program’s curriculum with stories about some funny things that happened with the children over the two weeks. I’m quite sure that many of us were admonished by our young attendees about our driving during the Safety Town session! In addition to Officer Garcia, we were lucky to hear from one of our firefighters, Brian Burke, about the visit to the fire station and the exploration of our fire department vehicles. Also, in Broadview Heights, wehave the services of a certificated teacher to lead the lessons and help with the curriculum. Not all programs have that type of professional in their sessions, so we are grateful for the expertise of our instructor, Lyndsey Wisniewski. On graduation day, she led the children in a couple of songs they learned at Safety Town, which they proudly performed.

I cannot adequately convey how proud I am to be the safety director for our police and fire departments. Their training and professionalism are the best around, but I am equally grateful for the kindness and patience they show each day as they perform their jobs. In most cases, when any of us in Broadview Heights call for help, we are in need of support and reassurance. It’s very important to have highly-skilled first responders, but it is also important to have folks who will calm us down, hold our hands, comfort our loved ones and let us know that we are good hands. Under the leadership of Fire Chief Jeff Hajek and Police Chief Steve Raiff, both departments exemplify positivity and skillfulness, which we all greatly appreciate. Personally, I am very grateful that I have them to advise me about all safety-related issues in our community.

As we head into the end of August, I hope that you all enjoy this next month or two of beautiful northeast Ohio weather. We still have some fun activities, including summer concerts, planned through the fall so please check our city website for a calendar of our outdoor activities, classes, sports, etc. In Broadview Heights, we are blessed to have so many people who share their time and talents with our community, so be sure to see which activities you’d like to join. There are lots to choose from, and there’s something for everyone.

If I can be of assistance to you in any way, please call my office at 440-526-4357 or email me at salai@broadview-heights.org. I appreciate hearing all the things you love about our wonderful city, but if there is something with which you need help, I will do my best to assist you. ∞